Archive for the ‘Random Reflections’ Category

Birthday Blog – 2016

February 23, 2016
19447_divers at Poipu

Diving with my son and others off Kauai

A song, a quote, and some favorite photos

Joe Cocker: Feelin’ Alright (Live)

Just thought I’d jump in here and post something on my birthday. Lots of folks have sent me birthday greetings, which is very cool – thanks, ya’ll! Anyone else who happens to have a birthday today, Happy Birthday to you too!

I’m off to buy myself a new pair of running shoes and go to the gym this morning. After that, I may just goof off for the rest of the day.

The following quote, one of my favorites, is from a book, Up Country, by Nelson Demille.

“The journey home is never a direct route – it is in fact always circuitous, and somewhere along the way we discover that the journey is more significant than the destination and that the people we meet along the way will be the traveling companions of our lives forever.”

Bonus Quotes: Love What You Do

By the way, the “Donald” quote wasn’t intentional, so take it or leave it, but I like the messages presented in this collection of quotes.

Bonus Photos:
  1. Ducks on Creekside Marsh
  2. Man Feeding the Gulls at Cannon Beach
  3. Bernie taking a picture while driving (keep that a secret please)
  4. Gospodor’s Monument on I-5 south of Centralia, WA
  5. Tree of Life, mural on a building in Estacada, OR
Man Feeding Gulls

 

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What is Serendipity?

November 5, 2015

What is serendipity? According to Merriam-Webster, it is “Luck that takes the form of finding valuable or pleasant things that are not looked for.”

Travel obviously is one opportunity for serendipity – discovering a new place to dive on the island of Kauai or seeing a double rainbow over the Columbia Gorge, things like that. Things that are not looked for . . . it could be financial, such as an unexpected inheritance or one of your children just announced they are going to have a baby. For me, a rufous-towhee (obviously) is always serendipity and a very good sign that things are looking up and the start of a great day.

How about this story, to be very specific about a “serendipitous event” (say that fast 10 times in a row). Over the weekend I was out doing a walk. The weather was decent (not raining), not too cold or too hot, and I was walking not too far from my home on a familiar route. Ahead I could see the big hill I was going to climb and thinking about the reward of the great view of my city at the top. But along the side of the street was “free stuff”, you know how people will put stuff out with a sign. As I passed the collection of mostly uninteresting stuff, I spied a coffee cup that caught my attention.

DSC_0806

Heron Cup (front view)

As I’m sure you know if you read my blog, I’m a bird fancier, especially raptors, herons, and other species. Seeing a heron in real life of course is always a treat. Anyway, I grabbed the cup out of the stuff and strapped it to my fanny pack so I could continue my walk. Oh, almost forgot, here’s the  back of the cup. Note what it says.

Heron Cup (back view)

Heron Cup (back view)

You can enlarge the image if you want, but here is what’s on the back of the cup. I’ll leave the interpretation up to you. One brief comment about the fifth bullet, that one clinched it for me – I always enjoy a good pun.

  • Keep a keen lookout.
  • Don’t be afraid to get your feet wet.
  • Be patient.
  • Look below the surface.
  • Enjoy a good reed.
  • Go fish.

Links:

Great blue heron (Thanks to arkive.org and the photographers who took the great photos.)

Things to Think About (Scroll through this category in my blog just for fun)

Mason Williams: Classical Gas

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Mindfulness – What is it, is it Important?

December 21, 2014

Merriam-Webster: The quality or state of being mindful; the practice of maintaining a nonjudgmental state of heightened or complete awareness of one’s thoughts, emotions, or experiences on a moment-to-moment basis; also, such a state of awareness.

I was watching a piece on 60 Minutes about “mindfulness”, and I thought I’d share some insights that might interest you. The link to the 60 Minutes broadcast is below.

If you look in my blog under Things to Think About, I posted “Doing Nothing: It Might Save Your Life” in October of last year. I admitted to being a Type A personality. I also admit to not being an expert on stress reduction or someone who practices yoga on a regular basis. However, I am learning about how important it is to lighten up, loosen up, and simplify my lifestyle, and hopefully to practice mindfulness spontaneously, which is the point of this blog post.

Rather than try to summarize the Anderson Cooper piece that aired on 60 Minutes on December 14, 2014, I’m providing the link to the script of the video about the mindfulness retreat and Cooper’s dialog with Jon Kabat-Zinn.

I guess for me the main take-aways were Kabat-Zinn’s ideas on mindfulness and how practicing it can help a person reduce stress, be healthier, and lead a more contented and happy life.

Here are a few more take-aways before I close, not my original ideas but quotes from others and ideas from other sources.

  • From a relative’s blog: “. . . if we wake up every morning and dedicate ourselves to doing and being good, this brief practice will no doubt lead to positive results. Through defining your intention for the day, your actions will have better results”.
  • From a Buddhist teacher named Kongtrul Rinpoche: “We are born with built-in abilities toward self-reflection and self-awareness which are our tools for personal growth”.
  • Last but not least, something that Kabat-Zinn said during interviews with Anderson Cooper about practicing mindfulness. It’s not in the script, but it was something to the effect – “If you’re thinking its something you should start practicing, you’re missing the point. It’s not a big should, it’s not like, oh, now I gotta do one more thing that I have to put in my life, that I have to be mindful. It’s not a doing but a being, and being doesn’t take time”.

Websites: http://www.mindfulnesscds.com/

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When a Tree Isn’t a Tree

May 6, 2014

What a great old tree!

When your day has gone well and you sit in your backyard looking up at a big oak tree at dusk, and the light is shining on one small part of the tree, about in the center and just barely visible, what thoughts occur to you, me, or anybody? Come on, free associate, meditate, have some fun with it . . .

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Random Reflection: July 2, 2013

July 16, 2013

I am relaxing after a demanding, but in most ways relaxing day. Never mind a lot of detail – suffice it to say that I went to work, ran a few miles with friends, had pizza and beer afterwards, and I am now at home. I did a few things – hung up my wet running clothes to dry, petted the dog, got the coffee ready for tomorrow morning, and realized it was getting dark, actually that wonderful twilight time of evening that we have in the Northwest this time of year. I wanted to sit in my backyard, relax, reflect, and write something. I grabbed a beer, appropriately a Twilight Summer Ale, brewed in the Northwest of course.

It was just barely light enough to write, after 9:30 p.m., but a slight breeze was blowing, no rain, and it was starting to cool down (it was in the high 80’s today), a perfect evening. I grew up in Houston where it doesn’t cool down much at night in the summer. I’m tired, but this is a nice finish to my day. It’s only July 2, but people have already started with the fireworks – my dog hates fireworks. It’s too dark to write now. If the mood strikes you, please send me your “random reflection” about your day, I’d like to read it. Take care.

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